14B Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Ulle Jn, Kecora, Progressive, ffeporter
Simple human contact ha
What was once considered a
Berkeley/hippie/alternative
practice has now entered the
mainstream and is garnering
conventional support -- this
is the art and science of
"touch."
Science is now able to
measure the many benefits of
touch. Such things as a pat on
the back, a touch on the arm
can be more important than
we realize. This kind of touch
is one of our primary tools of
expressing compassion.
Studies are showing that
human touch is essential to
communication and health.
Dacher Kelter, who
received his Ph.D. from
Stanford University in
psychology, and is now a
Professor of psychology at UC
Berkeley, conducts
experiments in the realm of
touch and compassion. In one
experiment, the question was
asked whether or not humans
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COMMUNITY GREEN
PAMELA NOEL
could clearly communicate
compassion through the
mechanism of touch.
Building a barrier in his
lab, he had participants who
were unknown to one another
put their arms through a hole
in the barrier. The other
person was given a list of
emotions to communicate --
each through a one-second
touch. The person whose arm
was being touched, had to
guess the emotion being
communicated. Kelter
determined that the odds of
guessing the right emotion by
chance were about 8 percent.
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In his study, he found that
participants guessed the
emotion of "compassion"
correctly 60 percent of the
time.
He cites two interesting
gender differences, however.
When women tried to
communicate anger to men,
they did not get it right. They
had no idea what the women
were trying to communicate.
When men tried to
communicate "compassion,"
the women didn't know what
the men were trying to
communicate: This was the
one gender exception in the
experiment. Men are from
Mars, women are from
Venus..,?
Kelter found, in other
research, that people are able
to discern love, gratitude and
compassionate touches much
better than they can detect
those feelings in vocal or
facial communication.
very powerful benefits
Another observation that is
widely shared by researchers
is that Western cultures are
very touch deprived,
especially in the United
States. Sydney Jourard
conducted a study where he
observed the conversations of
friends in different parts of
the world as they sat in a cafe
together. Observing the
conversations for the same
amount of time he found, that
in England, the friends
touched each other zero times
in an hour. In the United
States, when the friends
became enthusiastic, they
touched each other twice. In
France, friends touched each
other 110 times per hour; and
in Puerto Rico, 180 times.
(Research cited in "The
Science of Touch," by Dacher
Keltner.)
There are benefits that we
miss when we hold back from
touching, starting from the
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minute we are born. Tiffany
Field, a leader in the field of
touch, found that preterm
newborns who received just
three 15-minute sessions of
touch therapy each day for
. five - 10 days gained 47
percent more weight than
premature infants who
received the "standard of
care" medical treatment.
So what does loving,
compassionate touch
communicate? Studies show
that touch signals safety and
trust. It soothes. It calms
cardiovascular stress. In the
journal "Emotion" it was
found that NBA basketball
teams whose players touch
each other win more games.
Proper uses of touch have
incredible potential to
increase physical well-being
and lower medical costs. It's
not just good for our muscles,
but our entire mental and
physical health. Touching
patients with Alzheimer's
disease can have huge effects
on getting them to relax,
make connections with others
and reduce depression.
Research at UC Berkeley's
School of Public Health finds
that getting a pat on the back
from a doctor, with eye
contact, may boost survival :
rates of patients with complex:
diseases.
In educational settings, :
studies have shown that when!
teachers pat students in a :
friendly way, those students :
are three times more likely to !
speak and contribute in class:: '.
Gentle forms of touch
therapy -- whether it is
massage or other related ;
therapy -- have been found to !
contribute the following:.
benefits: relieving tension, '- :!
managing stress, encouraging
relaxation, reducing pain or
the perception of pain,
speeding healing,
strengthening the immune
system and creating more i
connectedness with one :: :
another.
So, whether "the touch
movement" originated in :
Berkeley or not, is probably' !" :
irrelevant at this point. In
pursuing a more resilient and
sustainable life for ourselves,
some form of regular touch
can encourage not only a ::
more pleasurable life, but one i l
that helps create health and ::
connection in moving ::
forward to better our planet. !:
Amazing Animalsi
Snickers, who is checking out her favorite brew in this photo
submitted by Sandy Cunneen, wishes everyone a happy St.
Patrick's Day.
Satchmo doesn't do a very good job of hiding in this photo
shared by Graeagle resident Kimberly Kaznowski. Satchmo and
his sister Lily, along with four dogs and two horses, keep the
Kaznowksi household lively.
J